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May 4
1800s *1869 - The Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first all-professional baseball team, started their first regular season with a 45–9 victory over the Great Westerns of Cincinnati. *1871 - A National Association contest between the Cleveland Forest Citys and Ft. Wayne Kekiongas is officially the first Major League game ever played. Ft. Wayne was the winner, 2–0, behind a four-hit shutout by pitcher Bobby Mathews. Al Pratt was the losing pitcher. Cleveland’s catcher Deacon White hit 3-for-4, including the first hit (a double) and also was the first to hit into a double play. Bill Lennon became the first catcher to throw a runner out trying to steal second base. In the 127 games during the 1871 season, there were a total of four shutouts. 1900s 1910s *1910 - Not wanting to offend either club, U.S. President William Howard Taft attended two games in one day. After watching part of a game between the hometown St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds at Sportsman's Park, he traveled cross-town to watch the remainder of the game between the St. Louis Browns and Cleveland Spiders at Robinson Field. 1920s 1930s *1931 - In an effort to put less strain on his leg, Babe Ruth played first base as Lou Gehrig moved to right field. Gehrig committed a costly error in the outfield helping the Washington Senators beat the Yankees, 7–3. *1939 - In his first-ever at-bat in the city of Detroit, Boston Red Sox rookie Ted Williams became the first player to hit a home run which totally cleared the right field seats at Briggs Stadium. 1940s *1943 - Commissioner Ford C. Frick demonstrated that the revised balata ball is livelier than the previous year’s ball by bouncing it on a carpet in his office. The major leagues had turned to the balata ball because of wartime restrictions on the supplies used to make standard baseballs. *1946 - Cecil Travis of the Washington Senators collected six straight hits before having his streak ended by Steve Gromek of the Cleveland Indians. Travis’ performance marked one of the few highlights of his career after World War II, where he suffered frozen feet. 1950s *1954 - The Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals set a major league record by using a whopping 42 players in an 11-inning marathon. The Phillies won the game, 14–10. *1956 - Boston Red Sox manager Pinky Higgins accepted the first Red Sox schedule ever printed braille from the National Braille Press. 1960s *1963 - Bob Shaw of the Milwaukee Braves set a major league record by committing five balks. In the third inning, Shaw walked Billy Williams and balked him home with three straight balks. Shaw lasted five innings before he was ejected for arguing. The Chicago Cubs beat Milwaukee, 5-3. *1966 - Willie Mays of the San Francisco Giants established a new National League record for most career home runs when he hit his 512th, surpassing the total of former New York Giants great Mel Ott. Mays’ blast against Claude Osteen, which put him fourth on the all-time list, helped the Giants beat the Dodgers, 6–1. *1969 - The Houston Astros set a National League record by turning seven double plays against the San Francisco Giants, with first baseman Curt Blefary taking part in all of them. The many twin killings helped the Astros to win the game, 3–1. 1970s *1975 - Bob Watson of the Houston Astros raced around the bases on Milt May's home run and crossed the plate at Candlestick Park in time to score the one millionth run in major league history, seconds ahead of Dave Concepción of the Cincinnati Reds to earn the distinction. *1976 - The Illinois Legislature declared today as Rick Monday Day because of his patriotic gesture on April 25 of saving the American flag from being burned by two spectators at Dodger Stadium. 1980s *1980 - Chicago White Sox first baseman Mike Squires catched the final inning of an 11–1 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, becoming the first left handed catcher to play in major league baseball since Dale Long in 1958. *1981 - New York Yankees relief pitcher Ron Davis struck out eight consecutive batters in the 4–2 victory over the California Angels at Anaheim Stadium, tying an American League record set by Nolan Ryan. *1984 - At the Metrodome, Dave Kingman of the Oakland Athletics was awarded a ground rule double when the ball he hit disappeared. The Ahletics slugger towering fly ball went through a drainage hole in the stadium roof and never returned to the playing field. *1989 - Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Junior Félix became the 53rd player in major league history to hit a home run in his first at-bat with a third-inning drive off Kirk McCaskill as Toronto lost 3–2 to the California Angels in 10 innings. 1990s *1991 - Chris James of the Cleveland Indians drove in nine runs with two home runs and two singles, breaking a club record for RBI and leading the Indians to a 20–6 victory over the Oakland Athletics. *1996: **The Texas Rangers became the first American League team in 79 years to pitch consecutive one-hitters as Roger Pavlik held the Detroit Tigers to a fifth-inning home run in a 3–1 win. Ken Hill one-hit Detroit on May 3, retiring the last 26 batters he faced. **The Colorado Rockies banged out 21 hits, including a pair of three-run home runs by Andrés Galarraga, to hook the Florida Marlins, 17–5. The Rockies scored seven runs in the first inning when they hit three of their five home runs. Galarraga collected seven RBI for the day. 2000s *2000 - The Philadelphia Phillies crushed the Cincinnati Reds, 14–1, as Doug Glanville collected five hits. The Phillies also tied a major league record by hitting four consecutive doubles in the first inning. *2001 - Raúl Mondesí of the Toronto Blue Jays went 4-for-4, with two home runs, two doubles and six RBI, leading Toronto to an 8–3 victory over the Seattle Mariners. *2002 **Barry Bonds hit his 400th home run with the San Francisco Giants in the 3–0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. Ryan Jensen relieved Giants starter Jason Schmidt in the first inning and carried a no-hitter into the eighth before surrender a single to Jason LaRue. **Pinch-hitter Shea Hillenbrand hit a two-out grand slam in the ninth inning, off Víctor Zambrano, to give the Boston Red Sox a 7–5 win over the host Tampa Bay Devil Rays. It is the third straight game in which Tampa Bay has blown a lead in the ninth. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Devil Rays are the first American League team since the 1929 Chicago White Sox to lose three straight games after taking the lead into the ninth inning. Births *1891 - Vic Saier, infielder (d. 1891) *1892 - Jack Tobin, outfielder (d. 1969) *1936 - John Tsitouris, pitcher *1945 - Rene Lachemann, manager *1956 - Ken Oberkfell, infielder *1956 - Ubaldo Heredia, pitcher *1957 - Rick Leach, OF/IF *1968 - Eddie Pérez, catcher *1971 - Joe Borowski, pitcher *1972 - Manuel Aybar, pitcher *1974 - Miguel Cairo, infielder *1976 - Jason Michaels, outfielder *1976 - Ben Grieve, All-Star outfielder Deaths *1966 - Bob Elliott, All-Star infielder and manager (b. 1916) *1972 - Vic Sorrell, pitcher (b. 1901) *1986 - Paul Richards, manager (b. 1908) *2006 - Jim Delsing, outfielder (b. 1925)